Rehabilitation Project
This project is part of Bridge Water Project's program in Western Kenya. What follows is direct from them:
PROPOSED PROJECT
The proposed Chebwayi dispensary is a facility that was started in the year 1935 sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist church. The dispensary lies along the Kakamega Webuye road and next to Butali sugar factory.
Being a health center, the dispensary serves a big population of local people from the surrounding and distance communities.
The dispensary treats people who suffer diseases like typhoid, diarrhea, cholera, and malaria among other diseases.
The dispensary receives at least 30 patients per day and more than 150 patients on clinic days which are held on Tuesday and Thursday every week.
CURRENT WATER SOURCE
Chebwayi dispensary is one of the facilities that were provided with this hand dug well in 1986. The well was then installed with a Nira pump, which served the dispensary, the community and the neighboring schools for a long period of time until it got spoiled. More efforts were done to repair the Nira pump but eventually no spare parts could found in the local market.
Besides the hand dug, the neighboring Chebwayi Institute, which consists of a primary, secondary school and college section had its own source of water, which was pumped by an electric engine, 2km away from its 15000 liters water tank that is constructed next and behind the dispensary.
With the supply of water from the 15000 L tank available, the dispensary together with the whole community resolved to get water from this source. However, the supply from the tank is not reliable since water from its catchment area where it is collected and pumped dries up during dry seasons.
Because of this shortage of water in the health facility, the community and the school around, decided to break the well pad of the hand dug well to access the water in the well. On breaking the well pad, the beneficiaries improvised a wooden cover, which was used to cover the open hole of the well.
On the other hand, the neighboring school to the dispensary begun sinking shallow wells in their compounds with the hope of accessing a lot water but all in vain. The shallow wells have remained dry and only collect water during rain seasons of which it cannot serve the school population.
To date, the dispensary, community and neighboring school both depend on this one hand dug well regardless of its present condition, which includes being improperly covered and constant contamination is taking place.
The well is contaminated by surface running rainwater, animal droppings. Besides the contamination by the said sources, the well is also contaminated by the way water is collected for use. For instance, the beneficiaries use a small container, which is tied with a rope and then dropped into the well. The possibilities are that the rope decomposes and as a result, it leaves small particles in the well. In addition, the container used to fetch water from the well carries dirt that comes as a result of placing it on dirty surface of the well.
The well also poses a risk to young children who are sent by their parents to fetch water. Since its open, it’s feared that young children could easily fall in when pulling water from the well that may exceed their weight.
With regard to all said conditions, the well to be rehabilitated has the potential to serve the dispensary, the community and the neighboring school since it doesn’t dry up even in the dry seasons. Therefore, the well requires a hand pump, which will be installed so as to help the beneficiaries’ access water easily, prevent contamination and also avoid the risk of children falling in.
POPULATION
The population is as follows:
- Dispensary: Minimum of 50 patients per day, 10 doctors.
- Primary School: 300 pupils, 118 girls, 182 boys and 28 teachers
- Secondary School 130 students, 60 ladies, 70 gents and 25 teachers
- College 170 students, 95 ladies, 75 gents and 30 teachers, Support staff: 65
- Community: 30 households (approx. 7 members per household)
A) HYGIENE AND SANITATION
Through the interviews and physical observations that were carried out during our visitation to this project, several conclusions were made. The interviews carried out mainly focused on members of the households and the patients who visited the dispensary.
10% of the patients who visited the dispensary were from other communities while 90% came from Chebwayi community. At least every household had a total number of 6 to 8 members. In most cases, the males head the families from Chebwayi community.
Out of 80% of the households that were visited for hygiene and sanitation analysis, 75% had bathing rooms. 5% of the other members did not have bathing rooms because of ignorance. 60% of the families visited did have the latrines that were functional during our visit. 15% of the remaining 20% had latrines that were not used by the family members especially children under 8 years. Instead, the children defecated in the nearby bushes. The remaining 5% did not have latrines. This is because some of the families ignored using latrines due to traditional believes, for example, daughters in law cannot use the same latrine with the father in law. Most families from the 5% are willing to construct the latrines for themselves.
Only 10% of the community members do wash their hands by use of soap especially before and after meals, after visiting the latrines and after work. The rest of the community members never use soap or ash when washing hands.
The overall hygiene and sanitation of this community is not bad. There is no substantial presence of human feces within 20m or near water sources. There are latrines in the dispensary, school and the community at large. Most homes have effective composite pits, no vector breeding sites and the households have the mosquito nets.
Other hygiene facilities like dish racks, hanging lines for clothes are present in at least 55% of the whole community.
The school has hand-washing stations in place. There is room for improvement though and BWP plans on conducting a hygiene and sanitation training to improve the sanitation within the community and to change behaviors with hygiene amongst community members.
B) WATER COMMITTEE
The water committee is already there and it will be strengthened during sanitation and hygiene workshop prior to the implementation of the project. The water committee will comprise of the doctors of the dispensary, teachers from the neighboring school and community members.
